


Crown for a King

by frozenCinders



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: AU where TKB is a shapeshifting dragon, M/M, and kaiba is predictable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:29:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24491314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozenCinders/pseuds/frozenCinders
Summary: Seto knows well enough the dangers of touching a dragon's hoard. Fortunately, his interest lies somewhere other than those countless treasures.
Relationships: Thief King Bakura/Kaiba Seto
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	Crown for a King

**Author's Note:**

> this was a request that took me a while to get on top of, but i'm glad it turned out the way it did..!
> 
> please send requests to frozencinders.tumblr.com!

Most people consider dragons a myth, simply because hardly anybody lives to tell of their encounters with them. Seto has had a fascination with the fictional white dragon of his childhood for as long as he can remember, so hearing rumors that a _real_ vicious white dragon has been spotted piques his interest. The only problem is figuring out how to live through the encounter.

Dragons are not known to be affectionate nor merciful. Some people dream of taming them, befriending them, enslaving them, but the dragons would surely laugh in their faces at the mere thought, were they able.

The first step to any survivable mission is to gather intel. It feels futile, but Seto has his people poke around for any information whatsoever about a white dragon. If it really is here in Japan, he'll scour every inch of the country just to lay eyes on it.

Seto tasks himself with searching the internet, sifting through what feels like infinite results that lead him nowhere. He does come across a lot of wonderful art of Blue-Eyes, though, and the links to which quickly fill up his bookmarks.

Eventually, though, Seto finds what appears to be a very serious forum for dragon sightings. It's heavily moderated, if the distant userbase to approved threads ratio is anything to go by. The first thread that catches his attention has a very straightforward title: "Updates on the Thief King Dragon".

The first post contains a long explanation of the assigned name, claiming that this dragon appears very suddenly in improbable places populated by humans and wreaks havoc, making away with treasures that are never seen again. Seto supposes dragons must find their treasure _somewhere_. He scrolls down and his eyes widen at the profile of the dragon.

Body type: Scales; no apparent feathers or fur. Four legs, two wings, and a tail.

Main body color: White.

Eye color: Lavender/Purple; although one sighting claims red.

Sightings: Various cities in Egypt and Japan.

When Seto scrolls down to see the comments, it's mostly comprised of people claiming they knew family and friends who might have been nearby one of the cities the dragon attacked, and a bunch of users wishing the mentioned people well. Seto clicks through every page of the thread, just in case there's some morsel of information he can actually use. Every so often, one of the moderators posts an update on which city was most recently attacked, stretching back as far as two years ago, when the thread was first posted. The older updates don't name the dragon yet, indicating that the first post has been heavily edited since its creation.

It's 17 pages into the thread that someone finally proposes the name. Everyone is in agreement that Thief King is a good name for the dragon that plunders human cities to take their treasures for its own.

It's hours before Seto reaches the end of the thread, his eyes exhausted but stubbornly kept open by his interest in the subject. On the last page, a user claims that the Thief King briefly landed atop a skyscraper in Shinjuku three hours ago before flying off again. The roof of the building is damaged, but nobody was hurt. The rest of the users in the thread have started organizing to prepare the people of Shinjuku in case the dragon was sizing up its next target.

Curious, Seto opens another tab to check the news in Shinjuku. Several recent news stories have headlines like "Unexplained property damage in Shinjuku", "Lightning strikes a skyscraper during clear weather?" and "Potential dragon sighting in Shinjuku". As far as Seto can tell, it's the least amount of havoc the Thief King has wrought in a city he's been spotted in. That was three hours ago, probably at about the time he started going through that thread, and he doubts the dragon is still near that city. Maybe he should have skipped to the end of the thread when he found it.

Too tired to continue researching, Seto puts out a call to his people to keep an eye on Shinjuku from now on, while not diverting too much attention from nearby areas. He leans back in his chair and rests his eyes for a moment before finally getting up to get ready for bed. He keeps his phone beside his pillow in case of any updates.

* * *

It's incredible how dragons are apparently capable of just... disappearing. How does something so huge and dangerous manage to elude Japanese authorities? Not to mention civilians who would be too tempted by the idea of meeting a dragon or stealing from its hoard not to follow it.

Dragons are fantastical creatures, after all, so maybe they can travel between dimensions. It'd be an interesting idea to bring up to enthusiasts, if nothing else.

Seto checks the internet for news about the dragon, but all related news is just about how the owner of that skyscraper is doing. Disappointed, Seto rolls his eyes and puts his phone to sleep. Time to pretend his mind isn't dominated by thoughts of dragons and get ready for the day, then.

While Seto is outside, two of his security guards come to update him. They tell him that there have been no additional sightings of the Thief King since last night, and that a swathe of them are asking around in Shinjuku for anyone who might have seen which direction the dragon took off in.

"Good. I want to find that dragon as soon as possible," he says, though he feels like he isn't about to make much progress. Not any time soon, at least.

"Sir, are you... planning on taking action against the dragon?"

Seto looks at the guard like he's an idiot.

"What do you want me to do about it? Ask it nicely to stop? My only goal is to _see_ the dragon, not commit suicide on it," he states.

As they're standing in Domino square, anyone could hear their conversation. One passerby does, stopping to stare at Seto with... lavender eyes. His hair is white and scruffy.

Seto thinks he knows how dragons manage to hide.

"Are you just going to stand there? Get back to work," Seto says, just to have a moment alone with this stranger. He doesn't need security guards getting protective of him right now.

Once they leave, the stranger attempts to walk away as well. Seto isn't having it.

"Don't you know it's impolite to eavesdrop? Although, I'm sure a certain dragon wouldn't care at all about what is or isn't considered rude," he vaguely accuses. Outright asking this man if he's secretly a shapeshifting dragon would make Seto look like a lunatic, so he has no choice but to toss hints in his direction.

"I was merely wondering why you three were discussing dragons as if they're real," the stranger replies, turning to face Seto with his arms crossed.

Seto isn't ready to let go of his new theory, but a part of him nags that he's being unreasonable. He ignores it.

"Have you heard of the Thief King dragon?" Seto asks him, still testing the waters. "It's been previously spotted in Egypt and Japan, and apparently landed in Shinjuku last night."

The stranger snorts but doesn't reply. Seto finds his eyes curiously tracing the scars on this man's face.

"It steals whatever gold, gems, or jewelry it can find from the cities it raids," Seto goes on. "I find myself wondering how it manages to hide its spoils from the world."

The stranger's easy smug expression falls a little, subtle enough that Seto is sure he doesn't realize it.

"So what, then? You plan to steal from a dragon?"

"Not at all. If I find the dragon, I could even appease it. I have the money, after all."

The stranger raises a brow.

"In fact, if the Thief King were to attack Domino, I imagine I would be its primary target."

With that, Seto leaves. If his theory is correct, he'll likely be seeing the dragon very soon.

* * *

It's two more days before a sudden, brief earthquake wracks Kaiba Corp. Seto knows that wasn't plates shifting, but a dragon landing.

When he rushes outside, he looks up to see shining white scales in the moonlight. They're obscured for a moment by the smoke the dragon huffs upon laying eyes on Seto, making it look very much like the moon itself with clouds passing over it.

Seto holds up his index finger, a signal to wait, and calmly walks back inside. A few seconds later, there is a second, stronger earthquake that has Seto struggling to maintain his footing for a moment. He guesses the Thief King has chosen to wait for him on the ground.

Given the fact that it waited two days to strike, Seto was given plenty of time to prepare an offering. He runs to his room to retrieve the small hoard of jewelry he's collected over the past 48 hours, and then makes his way back as quickly as possible without running out of breath. He doesn't want to show weakness in front of the dragon, after all.

The guards he passes along the way are tense and probably nearing panic. Seto specifically informed them not to go anywhere near the dragon, should they see it. It could easily kill them, after all.

When he steps outside again, the Thief King's eyes are already trained on him. The shade of them is exactly the same as the stranger he met at the square. Seto holds up the briefcase containing his offering before setting it down and opening it.

It's packed with sparkling gold and gems, wonderfully worked into some of the finest jewelry Seto has ever personally laid eyes on. The most important offering, however, is not within the briefcase.

"Cut the cameras," Seto orders into the microphone in his collar. He hears someone argue but another guard interrupts to comply.

The dragon huffs smoke again, the wind enveloping Seto in it. He just needs to give them time to kill the feed, and then he can start talking.

"It's done," he's told.

"This offering is only a small portion of what I could give you," Seto states, gesturing to the briefcase that lies at his feet. "I do have something else for you right now, but it won't fit a head like that. Why don't you try showing me something a little more familiar?"

The Thief King narrows its eyes at him, blowing more smoke at him. It growls, but it sounds more like stubborn grumbling than a threat. Its silhouette, barely visible through the smoke, begins shrinking.

"How the hell did you find out?" a familiar voice asks, the owner's hand swatting the smoke away. "What kind of lunatic just assumes some random man on the street is actually a dragon?"

Seto can't help a smirk, knowing he was right.

"White hair and purple eyes aren't so common, Thief King. Maybe look into getting some color contacts," he suggests, the taunting sarcasm simply in his nature.

Surprisingly, the Thief King returns his expression.

"What's this other gift, then, mortal? And what exactly do you hope to gain here?"

That's a good question. At first, Seto just desperately wanted to see a real dragon in person. He's accomplished that now, and suddenly the dragon's human form is a lot more appealing to him. Unusually so, in fact.

"Where else would I find an opportunity to interview a dragon?"

The Thief King tilts his head, smirk skewing to a more incredulous expression, and the way the moonlight highlights his pretty face is beyond breathtaking. Seto's ulterior motive increasingly makes itself clear to him.

Seto does have a reputation for hoarding white dragons, after all.

"So, what? You have a few questions for me? Each time I answer, you'll toss me a gem or some such? H-hahaha!"

"Not quite so simple. But first..."

Seto pulls the real offering out from his coat and the Thief King's eyes widen at the sight of it.

"A crown for a king."

It's now completely clear to Seto, as he lowers the crown onto that precious head. He wants to worship this beautiful dragon, the same way he does for Blue-Eyes. The Thief King laughs, and the sound of it exhilerates Seto.

"Keep things entertaining for me and maybe I'll let you be my first subject!"

Seto would like nothing more.


End file.
